Air-valve for internal-combustion engines.



A. G. GAEBUTT.

AIR VALVE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 16,1913.

1,101,920, Patented June 30,1914.

' ATTORNEYS ALLIE G. GA RBUTT, F STATENVILLE, GEORGIA.

AIR-VALVE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 30, 1914..-

Applicatlon filed July 16, 1913. Serial No. 779,322.

To all whom it may 'conoem:

Be it known that I, ALLm G. GARBUTT, a

' citizen of the United States, and a resident of Statenville, in the county of Echols and State of Georgia, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Valves for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the fol- I lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to internal combustion engines, my more particular urpose be:

ing to provide a valve to be connected with such engines, and preferably mounted upon the manifold (pipe thereof, for controlling, or at least mo ifying, the air supply.

More particularly stated, I seek to provide such a valve,automatic in its action, as

may be controlled by the degree of vacuum obtaining in the manifold pipe, so as to increase the air supply asthe vacuum diminishes, and to diminish the air supplyas the vacuum increases.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like letters indicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of an internal combustion engine upon which my device is mounted. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through my improved valve showing the same as it appears with the engine running under ordinary conditions of load.

Fig. 3 is a detail showing in elevation the plunger and the valve spring. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow and showing the valve as it appears when, the engine is stopped. Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 4,. but showing the valve as it-appears when the engine is startin into action.

- The engine cylin ers are shown at 6, and at 7 appear the branches of the-manifold pipe shown at 8. The manifold pipe is connected with a'thrott-le 9, which'in this instance is of the butterfly type, this throttle 17 provided with a vent hole 18.- The casing 11 is further provided with a number'of holes 19 all disposed in the same horizontal plane, and radiating outwardly. An adjusting screw 20 extends through the bottom of the casin and is provided with a head 21 whereby it may be turned, and thus adjusted in the general'direction of the length of the screw. A nut 22 is threaded to fit the screw, and serves the purpose of a lock'for the same. A spring 23, wound into the proximate form of a cone frustum, is located Within the casin andengages the adjusting screw 20. A va ve plunger is shown at 24 and is provided with air holes 25 and with a roove 26 into which the air holes merge. The groove 26 is of substantially the same width as the maximum diameter of any one of theholes 19. The valve plunger 24 is hollow and is provided with an annular web "27 which engages the spring 23. This springis so proportioned that the pressure exerted by it increases quite rapidly with the compression of the spring.

When the various parts of the valve are in normal position, or in other words, when the engine is standing still, the valve appears as indicated in Fig. 4, the plunger 24 being in its uppermost position and the air holes 19 being closed. F ig. 5 shows the relative positions of the various parts when the valve is subjected to the conditions obtaining when the vacuum in the manifold pipes is at its maximum, as for instance when the engine is being started, or when the. engine is running from its own momentum and the throttle isclosed.

Fig. 2 shows the relative positions of the various parts of the valve when the engine is running. under normal conditions of load and when the vacuum in the manifold pipe is relieved to a considerable extent, owing to the fact that the throttle is now open to a commensurate degree.

The operation of my "device is as follows: The. tension of the spring 23 is adjusted by adjustment of the bolt 20, according to the needs ofthe engine, the character of work to be performed, and various other consider-' ations such as may by experience he indicated as proper. The engineis now started and for this purpose the throttle 9 is open to a very slight extent. The-first explosion in one of the cylinders 6 results in a'partial vacuum being formed in the manifold pipe .and as this explosion is followed rapidly others, the vacuum in the manifold plpe suddenly becomes very great. The plunger 24 is thus drawn downwardly owing to air pressure upon its upper surface, as" will be understood from Fi 2. The spring'23 is thus compressed an the valve 24 takes up the position indicated in Fig. 5. The holes 19 are thus 'closeda'nd the engine receives no air except what is contained in the explosiv" mixture from the carbureter. This mixture, Is Well .known in this art, as comparatively rich in fuel, but contains c0mparatively little air. As the engine develops speedand power, the throttle 9 is opened graduall manually. The vacuum in the.

manifol pipe 8 becomes correspondingly lessened. The air pressure upon the valve.

plunger 24 being thus diminished the plunger, under control of the spring 23, gradually rises into the position indicated 7 in Fig. 2. As the engine assumes normal Working conditions, the plunger 24 settles into such position that the supply of air through the holes 19, groove 26 and holes 25' ment of the valve plunger is so rapid that the registry of the holes as just mentioned is not maintained more than a small fraction of a second. In practice, the valve plunger 24: drops downwardly and lodges upon-the seat 15 as soon as an explosion takes place in any one of the cylinders 6.

The device above described is very economical in the use of fuel, in that it automaticall apportions the air supply to the needs 0 .theengine.-.

In starting the engine the explosive mix tureshouldbea rich in fuel and poor in air. Afterstartin as the engine gradually assumes norma conditions ofwork, the air supply should be increased in the interest of economy so as to render the combustion more thorough...j Experience shows that as the engine-develops speed and power, an .in- 'creaseinthe air supply over that necessary firistarting, is'promotive of economy. More han this, I find from actual trial that other I desirable results are. obtained. For instance, the deposit of. carbon upon the spark plugs and various other parts where, it is ordiiiarily likely to occur, is prevented, or

at least greatly lessenedv bythe use of this" invention.

In an ordinary internal, combustion engins of the kind used for. propelling auto-l mobiles with the enginelrunning idle fromthe momentum ofthe machine, oreven when f cyliigel ie figmmyniegtmg b 3, flip theinacliine'is running lightly without any load, 'th e' pipe frequently reaches a degree of pressure designated "in this-art as a 20- inch vacuum. Contrary to the popular idea the vacuum in'the manifold ipe is reater when the engine is running 'w1th the t rottle completelyor almost closed than when the engine iswdeveloping considerable power. I take advantage of the difference in vacuum pressure in the manifold pipe in order to enable such vacuum pressure to control auto- I matically the supply of air to-the engine. My improved valve controls this air supply not by regulating directly the proportion of airsupplied by the carburetor as a part of the explosive mixture, butrather by introducing additional quantities of iron from an auxiliary source, and causing .the same to mingle with the explosive mixture from thev carbureter.

I find that the admission of air by the automatic action of my improved valve causes a thorough admixture to take place,

notonly between the air-admitted and the contents of the manifold pipe, but between the different ingredients of the-mixture already within the manifold pipe before the additional air is admitted.

ll do not limit myself tothe precise con struction shown, as variations may bemade therein without departing from the spirit of my invention. 3 I

I claim 1. A device of the character described, comprising a manifold vpipe, means for maintaining a partial vacuum therein, a casing connected by a single passage with said manifold pipe, said casing being provided with a vent and with. a compartment and further provided witha number of ports disposed inthe same plane and merging into saidfcompartment, a valve slidably mounted within said casing and provided with a groove for re istering with-said ports, said valve being hollow and provided with a number of holes extending inwardly from said groove, aspring engaging saidvalve, andan adjusting screw canried by'saidcasingand engaging said spring for the pur-- pose of adjusting the tension'thereof 'upon said valve.

2. A device of the character described,

comprising a manifold pipe, 'ahollow cas' ing communicating by a single passage with said manifold pipe, said casing being provided with a vent and with ports for inducting air, a valve slidably mounted within said casing and provided withv a groove and with anumber of holes merging into said' groove a springengaging said valve, and means controllable'at the will .of; the operator for adjustin the-tension of-said sp evice of: the characterv ascribed. eempress. a manifold: pipe; a substantially gle passage with said manifold pipe, said casing being provided with a vent and further provided with a plurality of ports for inducting air,- said ports extending, through the cylindrical wall of the casing and radiating outwardly from a common center, a valve slidably mounted Within said casing and having generally the form of a cylindrical piston, said valve being provided ex- 10 teriorly with an annular groove and further i provided with a number of ports merging mto said groove and radiating inwardly therefrom, a spiral spring engaging said valve, and means controllable at the will of the operator for adjusting said spiral spring. 15

ALLIE G. GARB'UTT. 

